Front... to back

Front... to back

Sweet grass Motorists on the A46 in Gloucester have had their journey brightened by giant Liquorice Allsorts made from bales of hay covered in brightly coloured materials. Metro News, 2.10.02 (I Fletcher, Manchester)

Fair kip Police had to wake a thief who had fallen asleep in the car he had stolen in a robbery at Old Basing, Basingstoke. Southern Daily Echo, 26.9.02 (M Hobbs, Burridge)

Clean cheep A laundry at Newton Abbot, Devon, has replaced the "beep-beep" reversing warning on its lorries with the more environmentally friendly sound of startled starlings. Western Morning News, 27.9.02 (N Neale, Sidmouth)

Tall tale Argyll and Bute council is having to re-hang signs forbidding dog fouling after they were placed out of sight and 9ft off the ground on lamp-posts on the esplanade in Oban. Press & Journal, 2.10.02 (S Lees, Wick)

Alienated A club for UFO spotters in Salisbury, Wiltshire, has had to close because there have been no reported extra-terrestrial sightings for five years. Birmingham Evening Mail, 25.9.02 (S Matthews, King's Norton)

Owl cowl An eagle owl, which lives at an animal centre at East Huntspill, Somerset, has a mask strapped on three times a day to pump purified air, water and medicine into its lungs to fight a rare infection. Western Daily Press, 24.9.02 (P Trickey, Colyton)

Slippery dip One of the prizes in the raffle at the Holt and district farming club's annual ploughing match in Norfolk was a bucket of heavy-duty grease. Eastern Daily Press, 3.10.02 (T Vale, Wymondham)

Poetry in motion Rail commuters on the Cardiff Central to Treforest train were treated to a performance of poems written by the students at Glamorgan University as part of its 10th anniversary celebrations. South Wales Echo, 20.9.02 (G Davies, Cardiff)

Vitals design An industrial design graduate of Napier University, Edinburgh, is using a £2,000 grant from car-maker Audi to develop a design for stab-proof underpants to protect police officers from injury. The Herald, 4.10.02 (A Prince, Isle of Arran)

Caffeine free The owner of a coffee shop in Stourbridge, West Midlands, is allergic to coffee and has not touched it for 22 years. Express & Star, 11.9.02 (SP Lewis, Wolverhampton)

Dream start A newly-wed couple spent the first week of their honeymoon in a van, hoping to be first in the queue to buy one of the houses being sold off by the Ministry of Defence at Watton, Norfolk. Norwich Evening News, 20.9.02 (G. Walker, Bilston)

Bacon roll Police are looking for the owner of a stolen camera, found in a house in Norwich, which contained a film showing nothing but pigs. Norwich Advertiser, 27.9.02 (E Bentley, Norwich)

Holy cat! A church in Cricklade, Wiltshire, has been adopted by a stray black feline, nicknamed St Chloe, which sleeps in the vicar's chair and attends weddings and funerals. Western Daily Press, 2.10.02 (S Legg, Sidford)

Arresting prospect A Victorian former police station in Ironbridge, Shropshire, is for sale with fixtures and fittings including the original magistrates' bench, cells, leg-irons and a birching stool. Shropshire Star, 1.10.02 (A Welsh, Llanidloes)

· Cuttings, preferably from local papers, which reflect interesting or amusing aspects of life in Britain, must be sent on a postcard (with source) to: Society, The Guardian, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER. £15 will be paid for each one used.